Small and midsize financial institutions and nonbanks look to steady their income stream by retaining servicing in lieu of servicing release premiums.

The supply of foreclosed homes and REOs is dwindling quickly and probably has already peaked.

In the modern world, paper documents are an obstacle between servicers and their own potential competitiveness.

The inaugural Zillow Rent Index shows "a healthy and growing rental market" across most of the country, even as home values continue to fall. And according to Zillow's chief economist Stan Humphries, rents are not rising at the expense of home values. "The opposite is true."

Everyone knows that if you are looking to purchase a home, the time has never been better than right now. Tenacious builders that survived the housing market plunge are gearing up; they are building new homes and remodeling existing ones at a rate that we have not seen for many years.

The media has been flooded this past week with positive news on the housing market. Sales of existing homes show definite signs of life and construction jobs are rebounding, making it is easy to sit back and breathe a sigh of relief. However, in taking a second look, it is important to keep in mind that we are not out of the woods yet.

In his recent State of the Union address, President Obama laid out a "Blueprint for an America Built to Last," calling for, among other things, action to help responsible borrowers and support a housing market recovery.

Richard Cordray made his first appearance on Capitol Hill this past week in front of the Senate Banking Committee.

In this election year, there certainly is no shortage of political rhetoric and drama in every debate and speech we encounter, including the recent State of the Union address by President Obama. In the address, President Obama addressed the latest of this administration’s efforts to thwart the woes of the housing market.

The Federal Reserve’s 26-page white paper has generated a lot of commentary, both pro and con, since being released on Jan. 4. While others spend time and energy debating whether or not it’s the role of the Fed to comment on or recommend policy, I find the content itself far more interesting.

There are many challenges associated with principal reduction as a tool to heal our ailing housing market. Many concerns are raised when this type of loan modification is being contemplated.

Home prices fell 3.5% in the past year and mortgage rates are at record lows. One would think that borrowers would be flocking to their nearest real estate agent to buy the next home they can find. However, homebuyers are not coming out of the woodwork - yet.

Traditionally field economists would focus on economics and finance leaving political economy to academics. The crisis is changing that demanding more politically sensitive outlooks that capture the complexity of major socio-economic events of today.

For the "information junkie" who anxiously searches for any glimmer of an economic recovery, 2012 may prove to be a classic "good news-bad news" scenario. If you follow the news feeds, there is definitely no shortage of stories to bolster the position that the housing market is still a mess.

At the beginning of this new year, President Obama, much to the chagrin of many Republicans in Congress and constituents in the mortgage banking community, appointed Richard Cordray as Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Does Cordray's appointment to the CFPB mean: For every problem there is an opportunity?